Drawn
by LoveroftheFlame
Summary: If they touched, would she be burned by the flame within him? She wants to find out. MaixZuko


Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender and am making no money off of this story.

_For Rawles.

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_Drawn_

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Mai was bored. Then again, she was usually bored so that was nothing new. Her eyes caught the fluttering of a small black moth dancing with the torch on the wall and she focused on it while thinking about how to alleviate the tedium. After the initial takeover and random executions there wasn't much left to do in Ba Sing Se while they awaited the Fire Nation army but taunt the Joo Dee's and make the Dai Li guards dodge knives.

Ty Lee was using her spare time to work through the ranks of the young handsome ones with an efficiency that was amazing, although… _If I have to hear another pick-up line about how manly a soldier's aura is, I am going to throw up._

There was one bright spot to her day but even _he_ had his drawbacks… namely a strong sense of ridiculous honor. He wouldn't touch her.

_Damnit. _

Azula didn't trust him enough to let him be alone too often. Consequently, he spent the majority of his time sparring with the soldiers… They actually seemed to like him for some strange reason. Perhaps that innate regalness, that even in exile he never lost, drew them to him.

_Like it does me. _

She had always been drawn to Zuko. He had a flame inside him that pulled her attention in and held it captive. If she touched him, she wondered, would that flame burn her like the moth that just immolated itself in the torch?

She wanted to find out.

Wandering to the training grounds, she could hear the fierce sounds of battle. _I wish._ Really, it was just the noon spar that he engaged in every day. She had stopped coming to watch him when it became too difficult to keep her carefully crafted air of ennui intact. Which startled her because most of the time it was truly not crafted at all… only around him did it become hard to maintain.

She was afraid of the grin that threatened to explode over her face when he trounced his foes. Who was this girl that wanted to stand and cheer him on when he fell? Surely not the dour girl she saw in the mirror everyday. Yet instead of avoiding him, as her innate wisdom told her to do, she was here again. Edging ever closer to the flame.

After the fight, she languidly walked up to him. Ordinarily, she would have made him come to her. But she was unaccountably afraid he would walk right by her again, like he had done for the past two weeks. She twirled one of her knives to calm herself. Of course, to the world she looked like her normal blasé self. Inside, she was as nervous as a catbird in a room full of pantherlions.

He drew a towel over his shoulders and it was all she could do not to lick her lips at all that pale, exposed flesh just waiting for her touch. He hadn't looked like that three years ago. Planes of battle-hardened muscles now lined his tall, lithe body. His shaggy hair cried out for her slender fingers to run through it. He tipped back his head to take a drink from the ladle a servant offered and she was treated to the sight of strong, sweat-gleamed tendons arching in a way that made her imagine long afternoons spent in bed.

"Not bad." The words flowed out of her mouth before she could stop them. Thankfully, he didn't notice the tiny hoarse edge to her voice.

He arched a brow. "You were watching?"

"Yes. You have improved greatly, Prince Zuko." She found that focusing on his eyes was easier than looking at his body.

"Thank you. Uncle has…" He trailed off, and it was clear he was remembering exactly where his Uncle was now. The distress on his face tore at her heart. People thought she didn't feel anything and maybe that was true most of the time, but when it came to Zuko… she felt everything. She reached out and boldly placed a hand on his chest. His skin was so hot to the touch it nearly burned her and she wondered if this was how the moth felt right before it died. But just like that moth, she didn't pull away.

"The General deserves our respect." She didn't know why she said that or if it even fit the situation, but by the way his eyes warmed, apparently it was the right thing to say.

He placed his hand over hers, sending a shock through her system. "Thank you." He said again, but this time the warmth and gratitude in his voice caressed her senses and made her want to close her eyes against the tide of pleasure it caused.

Unconsciously, she leaned closer to him and he tilted his head down toward her as if pulled by an invisible cord. A soft flush rose up to color their cheeks. Warm fingers tightened around hers and he tugged her gently to him until her robes brushed his chest. His eyes ignited and she found herself mesmerized by the fire behind them. The world narrowed to just the two of them.

"_Mai…"_ Her name was a breathless whisper against her lips. She was so close to him that his exhalation was her inhalation. He gently pressed his mouth against hers. She could feel his heart beating under her palm, strong and wild, like her own. His tongue slipped out to taste her bottom lip. Teasing it, coaxing it to part from its mate to slide skillfully over her own and she wondered faintly, and with no small amount of jealousy, where he had learned to do that. His heat consumed her, and she knew now why the moth risked death to court the flame.

"Mai… Mai…" She could still feel him exploring her mouth with his, yet his sharp voice was as clear as a bell and strangely high pitched.

"MAI!"

She blinked her stinging eyes and turned to the frowning princess that stood before her.

"If you are quite done daydreaming, I would like you to go and retrieve my fool brother from the training grounds."

She shook herself mentally as she stood up. "Of course, Princess Azula." Ignoring Ty Lee's snickering, she walked slowly out of the room, smirking slightly.

_Time to end my boredom. _

Fin?


End file.
